


Your Majesty

by irlmagicalgirl



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bullying, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Slurs, prom au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-14 13:16:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1267762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlmagicalgirl/pseuds/irlmagicalgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prom is coming up, and all Marco Bodt wants to do is get through it in one piece with his friends (and maybe watch the school's star quarterback, the Stallion, win Prom King in the process).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Majesty

**Author's Note:**

> A lovely piece of fluff, specially dedicated to my friends in the Skype "Fluffchat" - Taylor/ownly-lownly, Heather/ask-irl-lad-jean, Amanda/askladbertholdt, and Monkey/askmybeatingheartconnie. Enjoy, you guys! I hope this fluffy fluff heals any wounds caused by painful AU hell these past few days!

Marco winced as the right side of his body slammed into the maroon lockers in the school hallway. He couldn't even see which of the brutes had shoved into him this time. For all he knew, it could have been two of them at once. He never really cared to pay attention. His main goal was to make it through the hallway each day in one piece. He watched as the jocks strode off, 'TITANS' written ever so fittingly on the back of their letterman jackets. If he wasn't mistaken, one or two of them muttered "faggot" under their breath, or something similar. He had started not to pay as much attention to what they said. He had heard the word so often that it almost didn't sting as much anymore. Almost.  It didn't hurt quite as bad as long as Marco knew that _he_ wasn't one of the ones touching him or whispering the slurs. _He_ being the single one to look back at Marco as they walked away - the lean one with the undercut. The quarterback - Stallion, they called him. His face had no expression of hatred, or taunting, but definitely not one of pity or concern either. He was the single one of the bunch that Marco forgave, because he was the only that had never touched him, or muttered a word against him. Still, the situation wasn't ideal, because he never said a word to defend him, either.

            "Marco! You okay?"

            Marco turned to see his friend Armin running after him as he gingerly rubbed at his arm.

            "Yeah, I'm good," he responded with a small smile. "Not as bad as other ones, so it won't bruise this time I bet."

            Armin provided a kind, apologetic smile. "If you respond to them...just fight back a little, they'll realize you aren't worth it."

            Marco nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I know." He knew it was good advice. It wasn't ideal to bring violence into everything, but that really was all that had ever stopped the jocks. Before Marco had been the main target, they focused on Armin and his boyfriend, Eren. Really, they found it perfect - two gay birds with one stone. One day, the jocks, whom the school 'affectionately' just referred to as the Titans all the time (despite the Titans being the mascot for the entire school), found Armin and Eren walking home together, hand in hand. What was worse was that they were outside school, so the Titans could jump right on them without worry of school authority breathing down their necks. Not that the administration ever did anything long term anyway, but at least they prevented big blow ups from happening. In school, Eren and Armin mostly suffered slurs and shoves, much like Marco had been receiving as of late, but this time had been different. Without warning, the Titans came up behind the couple, and one of them grabbed Armin, the smaller, by the arms and quite literally threw him up against a nearby fence. This was different from a simple shove into a locker. Armin had been thrown hard, and slumped immediately down the fence. He was conscious, but rendered more or less useless. He had shouted at Eren to make sure his boyfriend was aware of what was going on, but the other boy had already taken notice of the situation. He was surrounded by five or six Titans (Marco had heard the number differently each retell of the story), and he just...lost it. It was as if the sight of Armin's body being tossed so carelessly out of the way had triggered something in him. Marco had always had a hard time envisioning the situation, but from what he had heard in excited fragments a multitude of times, Eren had become some kind of enraged fighting machine and fought off those five or six Titans. He had come out mostly unscathed, and the Titans retreated (after at least 2 had received black eyes, 1 had received a broken nose, and 2 had  been kicked places that had brought them to their knees). Eren carried Armin home piggy back and the Titans never touched the couple again. They had decided it wasn't worth it - not even touching Armin when Eren wasn't directly present. Marco had heard them say themselves that the Jaeger kid was crazy. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was just really defensive. And Marco knew that if he were to do something similar, even just fight back a little, they would figure he wasn't worth it either. Still, something stopped him. He had heard that the Stallion, Jean, his name was, had been there that day with Eren and Armin. Jean had not been the one to instigate anything, he knew, but Marco also knew he couldn't have retreated without defending his teammates in battle either - he had returned to school the next day with a black eye. So he didn't fight out of hatred, but to defend his friends...which was alright, Marco supposed. It didn't change his image of the quarterback much, but did keep him from defending himself. If Marco were to fight back, Jean would be there and he would have to get involved, and then he might have to hit Marco, who just couldn't live with even the thought of such a possibility. Eren had even offered once to tag team with Marco, but that might mean that Jean would be the one to get hurt, and Marco didn't want that to happen either. At least not on his account. It had already happened once, and that was bad enough. So Marco found it best to endure the mild shoves and slurs and watch his back walking home (generally with Eren and Armin at his sides, as well as Eren's very badass foster sister who would not allow them to be touched anyway). As long as Jean remained neutral, he could endure it. Because, somehow, Marco had fallen in love with the Stallion, and if he were to one day become as bad as his fellow Titans, Marco would consider himself a traitor for liking him. It was bad enough, already.

            Armin examined Marco who had gotten caught up deep in thought. "You aren't going to fight back, are you?"

            Marco shook his head, effectively leaving his deep thoughts at the same time.

            "You're going to let yourself get bullied like this, just because you don't want that guy in the mix?" Armin asked, who knew full well about Marco's infatuation with the Stallion. Marco shrugged.

            "Well...yeah. That's what Eren did for you." Armin cocked an eyebrow at him, unconvinced, so he went on to explain. "You know...he let himself get beat up himself so that you wouldn't have to get hurt."

            Armin blinked at him in disbelief. "That is the _worst_ parallel I have ever heard, that doesn't even make sense. If Eren is you in the situation, and I am Jean, then you seriously need to adjust your parallel making skills."

            "Alright, fine, so not the best visual," Marco agreed. He checked his surroundings a few times before continuing. "My point is, I like him, alright? And if getting a little push a day is all it takes to keep him out of all of this, fine. As long as he isn't the one taunting me, and as long as he doesn't get hurt by me trying to defend myself, it's alright."

            "Yeah, but Marco, he isn't defending you either. By letting it happen, it's just as bad. You don't want him hurt, but he's allowing you to get hurt."

            Marco knew he was right, but he gave half a smile and a shrug. "I don't know, it could be worse. All I know is that he is the single one of the Titans to have never done anything against me, and he always looks back at me when they walk away. I don't know. Maybe he _wants_ to help, or something, but could you imagine what the jocks would do to him if he went against them? He'd never hear the end of it. It's better just keeping it the way it is."

            Armin opened his mouth to respond, but Marco never learned what he was going to say, as Eren caught up to them at that exactly moment and threw an arm around his boyfriend.

            "Ready to take off?" Eren asked as the final school bell of the week rang. Mikasa, Eren's sister, had promised to drive them to the mall to pick up their prom clothes from the tailor as the big event was Saturday, the next day.

            "Yeah, let's go," Marco agreed, happy to change the subject, as Armin picked up and kissed the hand that hung over his shoulder.

            Eren scoffed as they passed the Prom Court campaign posters that hung in the hall by the school's front doors. Mikasa was displayed on the Prom Queen candidates' poster, coincidentally being quite popular in school, next to the other nominated girls. On the Prom King poster, Jean the Stallion stood front and center. Being quarterback, it more or less went without saying that he was already school royalty as well. Besides that, he really was the only halfway decent one of the Titan football players.

            "I will lose my shit if that fuckin' horse wins," Eren grumbled at the nominee poster. Armin nudged at him.

            "What?...Oh," he replied, remembering Marco's feelings. "Well, alright, I guess he is the best of the worst. But he's still a Titan, and just...by default, I kind of can't stand any of them. Too much history. But, _for you,_ Marco, I guess I'll dislike him just a _little_ bit less. Maybe, like...Bertholdt will win. He's pretty popular as class president. Plus, I think he's, you know, _family_ , if you know what I mean."

            Marco shrugged, neither agreeing or disagreeing. Bert was a pretty cool kid, too, but in his heart, he was going to cheer for Jean. At the very least, he would vote for him.

***

            "There, that doesn't look so bad," Mikasa said, helping Marco adjust his white orchid boutonnière in his lapel.  She was planning on going solo and meeting up with friends at the actual dance, but she wore an orchid corsage and form fitting, floor length black gown to match with Marco so that they would both look good walking in with someone else ("Besides," Marco had said, "a queen candidate should have a humble escort").

            "Are we ready then?" Armin asked, standing straight and adjusting his tie. He had his hair pulled half back, and Marco had to admit that his friend looked quite handsome, not to mention adorable matching with Eren. One wore a peach rose and the other wore an orange, while they wore the other's color on their ties.

            "Ready as we'll ever be," Mikasa replied, tossing her car keys once and catching them midair. Marco rode shotgun to her in her little red Mustang, with Eren and Armin in the back seat. Marco couldn't help but watch in awe as Mikasa handle the car gracefully in heels and a gown. Something in him knew that she was going to be voted queen - it was going to be tough next to Christa and Annie, but Mikasa just seemed to have the qualities they had and more, and carried them with such a humble and almost unknowing attitude that she had to win. Which made Marco happy, really. If anyone was going to share a dance with Jean (and there was no doubt in his mind that _Jean_ would win), he was glad it would be her.

            They pulled up to the school and Eren made some snarky comment about the school holding prom in the gym instead of a country club or hotel or anything nicer. Armin shrugged as they slid out of the Mustang and Marco went to open Mikasa's door to let her out, allowing her to grab his arm. They all took quick notice of the limos pulling up left and right, letting out the rich kids. Marco's eyes found Jean stepping out of his limo with his friends, and couldn't help but notice he came alone as well. He had to wonder why - he was popular enough that girls would ask _him_ to the dance. But he was nominated, so maybe he expected to win and just planned to adopt whoever was queen as his date. That made sense.

            The four friends paraded into the gymnasium. Marco was looking forward to blending in and being left alone for a simple night of fun for once, and the loud music and obnoxious lights convinced him that he would be able to do just that. Eren pulled Armin onto the dance floor right away, already recognizing a song that he loved, and Armin stumbled behind him, a cheerful grin on his face. Marco chuckled, trying to live vicariously through them as he made his way to the snack table with Mikasa.

            "When do you have to go on stage?" Marco asked his escort as they examined the remaining almond butter and honey finger sandwiches. Sasha and Connie, whom they shared multiple classes with, had come together, and Connie had his hands on his knees, cracking up over Sasha sharing a very intimate dance with one of the finger sandwiches.

            "Mm, about an hour and a half, I would say," Mikasa replied as she selected a sandwich and smirked at Sasha and Connie. "I mean, they need enough time to have everyone vote and do the tally, but they want to do it early enough that the winners get to wear their crowns and stuff for a decent amount of time."

            "And how badly to you want to win?" Marco asked, pouring himself a cup of punch, and smiled lightly, already knowing what her answer would be. She just shrugged, as he expected.

            "It's just a crown, really. That and a dance with the king, and you know as well as I do how much I _need_ that," she finished sarcastically. And that was just another reason she was destined to win. She was just so nonchalant about the whole thing. She finished her sandwich contently before holding out a hand to Marco. "Come on, let's go dance so I can enjoy myself before having to go up on that stage."

            They laughed their way to the floor and somehow shimmied their way through the crowd over to Eren and Armin, taking turns dancing with each of them, and sometimes all in a big group. Mikasa's friends found their way over and they danced in every combination they could imagine, with Eren and Armin reserving some just for the two of them now and then. Mikasa and Annie, the other queen nomination, even shared a kind of dance to Cascada's Every Time We Touch, and even though Marco, Armin, and Eren couldn't for the life of them decide if it was a joke or a serious dance, they were all glad to see the two girls loosened up and having a good time.

            Marco pulled himself away eventually, as they all had done here and there, to go place his votes in the boxes once Principal Smith came over the loudspeaker to announce that the votes would be counted after fifteen more minutes. As expected, there was a crowd around the boxes, and excited whispering and giggling. Marco grabbed a ballot and quickly circled both Jean and Mikasa's names, dropping it into the box and slipping away before any of the Titans around the table could take notice of him.

            He made his way back to his friends where they all danced without inhibitions to Fergie's A Little Party. The combination of the lights, bodies, and song choice was very reminiscent of the new Great Gatsby movie that had just been released, and for a few moments, Marco closed his eyes and imagined he was in a crowded room at Jay's where he knew no one and no one knew him,  and he could go home afterward and fall on his bed and not be in love with anyone, and live for the moment.

            "The ballots have now been counted. Will the Prom Court please take their places on stage, please?" came Principal Smith's voice over the loudspeaker once more, and now he was center stage. Mikasa gave a small wave to her friends, promising she would return in minutes, and she followed her fellow candidates onstage. Marco's eyes, however, were drawn once more to Jean, who stood out among the rest, looking rather James Bond like, with a black tie and no flower in his lapel. It made sense, since he came without a date to match him, and Marco thought he came off as very classy, choosing to go with plain black and white. Then again, except for the thin red tie that Eren convinced him to buy to further match Mikasa's scarf (which she still insisted on wearing that night and had draped it rather elegantly over her shoulders), Marco was all black and white as well, down to his little white orchid.

            "Alright, we'll start with the men then, shall we?" Smith said, and a student brought him an envelope, which he opened slowly, evidently trying to mimic suspense in a very Ryan Seacrest sort of way. "And this year's Prom King _is_...Mr. Jean Kirschtein!"

            No surprise there whatsoever, and still, the entire gym erupted in applause. Marco included. Eren excluded. He crossed his arms huffily and Armin just laughed and gave his shoulder a squeeze. Jean smiled dashingly and bent his head slightly to receive his crown and sash. He gave a slight wave of thanks to his crowd of peers and took a step back, giving a glance to the queen candidates. Marco kind of couldn't help but wonder if Jean _wanted_ Mikasa to win. Had he voted for her? Marco decided for a second time that he would be supportive of them if something happened between them because of  their pairing at prom. Although, if Mikasa would even ever go for such a thing was a different matter entirely.

            "Alright, ladies, are you ready?" Smith asked, accepting the envelope. "And this year's Prom Queen _is_...,"

            _Mikasa Ackerman_ , Marco involuntarily voiced in his head, already raising his hands to start applause.

            "...A write in."

            _Wait, what?_

            The entire gym went silent. That meant Mikasa _hadn't_ won. But it also meant that the other candidates hadn't won either. It meant exactly what Principal Smith had said - the winner wasn't even a nominee, but enough people had written in another name that it beat out the other candidates.

            "The winner is...Marco...Bodt?" Smith said, half declaring it, half questioning it. The Principal knew who Marco was and definitely knew he was male, but there wasn't much he could do. Technically, Marco had won Prom Queen.

            If the room had been silent before the announcement, it was nothing like it was now. The faces of the candidates on stage, including Jean's, were of pure shock, reflecting the expressions on the faces of Marco's friends. Everyone else must have written in Marco's name to create the majority. The Titans had pulled together nearly the entire high school to create one huge jab at him.

            "Marco? Are you here? You may come up and accept your crown," Principal Smith said, trying to be as amiable as possible. It wasn't his fault - he had no clue how to react either. A few snickers could be heard off where Jean had left his friends. Armin's hand reached out for Marco, and he opened his mouth and said something - probably some encouragement about how he should go up and accept the crown - but Marco didn't hear him. Hot tears welled up in his eyes and the spot light found him, and for a moment, he was frozen on the spot, yet burning up at the same time. Before Principal Smith could invite him up once more, Marco jerked his arm away from Armin and turned and ran out of the gym. A warm tear fell quickly down his cheek and he swiped at it roughly with his sleeve as he burst out of the gym.

            Before Eren or Armin (or anyone else for that matter) could comprehend the situation, Jean had leaped off stage and ran down. "Armin, right?" he asked, reaching the blonde. "Would you mind if I went after him?"

            Armin wordlessly nodded to him as he and Eren watched the Stallion run out. The Titans could be heard chuckling in the background, and a few whistled or clapped once or twice in late mock cheering for their queen.

            "Marco!" Jean called down the empty hall, as Marco kept running.

            "Armin, _please_ , I don't want to hear it right now," he cried back.

            "I'm...not Armin," Jean replied, just as Marco recognized the voice difference himself. He stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to face Jean. He didn't feel as hot, so he knew that his blush had gone down, but he knew that his eyes were still red and inflamed.

            "Hey," Jean greeted, albeit somewhat awkwardly.

            "What do you want?" Marco shot back. He meant for it to sound tough, but it came out sniffled instead. He immediately felt guilty. Jean didn't deserve the attitude. After all, he had literally done _nothing_ , except for now, being the single person to run after him.     

            "I just...wanted to see if you were okay."

            "No. No, I'm not okay. I was an idiot. I was foolish. I walked into this prom thinking, that because it was prom, I would be safe. Armin and Eren were fine. I even came with a female escort. And no one touched me. No one talked to me. I was having a good time, and I was happy for _once in my life_ within the walls of this _goddamn_ school, but who was I kidding?"

            "It was just a stupid joke," Jean said weakly, trying to comfort Marco, but he knew that what he said was futile. _He_ knew it was so much more than a joke.

            "It was a perfect year of hate in the form of private ballot, presented to me anonymously by the _entire school_ , because they're too afraid to hate me all at once, to my face, in front of Principal Smith. And in the end, he was the one to deliver it. What a perfect fucking _cherry_ to top it all off."

            "But that's the thing, Marco. It _was_ a stupid joke. They wanted to embarrass you, and right now, you're letting them succeed. But what did they _really_ do? They gave you a crown and sash is all they did. They _gave you_ the most coveted title in the school. Now, from my perspective, you can stay out here and let them know they beat you, _or_ you can come back and rule with me. As king _or_ queen. Your choice."

            Marco stared at him for a moment, taking in all he was saying, along with the fact of who he was. This was _Jean_. This was the prom king. This was the Stallion, the _star quarterback_. Marco had never even been spoken directly to by him before. And here he was, out in the hall with the lowest of the low.

            "Why are you doing this?" Marco had to ask. Jean shrugged.

            "I just...care. That's all. Now are you going to come back with me or not?"

            Marco found himself wondering, for a moment, if he was being tricked, but after a moment, he nodded and followed Jean back into the gym, not stooping low enough to take his arm and reenter the same way he had entered with Mikasa. All eyes turned to them as they walked back in, and the spotlight found them quickly. Marco made a quick mental note to be angry at the lights operator later, but now, he tried to hold his head high and keep his eyes dry as he made his way up to the stage. All of the nominees were still up there - in fact, it seemed as though no one in the room had even moved. Mikasa raised her eyebrows to Marco in the best way she could think of to ask how he was, and he gave her a single nod.

            "Um, ladies and gentlemen," Principal Smith stammered. "Your Prom...,"

            "Queen," Marco nodded. He was going to own the title he had received.

            "Ladies and gentlemen, Marco Bodt - your 2014 Prom Queen!"

            Marco accepted his crown and sash and took a step up to the microphone to speak, before realizing that Jean had not even made a speech himself. He shrugged anyway and gave half a smirk to the sea of students.

            "Eat your heart out, Kate Middleton."

            He received a few cheers from his friends and some other stragglers, but the majority of other students were made up of stunned individuals and Titans, who seemed to think the joke was still going and that Jean had something else prepared. If for no reason other than caution and recent embarrassment, Marco had a feeling that this might be the case as well.

            Jean put a hand on Marco's shoulder and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Well, come on, _your majesty_ ," he breathed as a smile broke out across his face. "We need to have a slow dance. It's tradition."

            Marco was shocked that Jean would bother dancing with him - wouldn't it be humiliating for him as well? But Marco shrugged inwardly, realizing that _of course_ Jean would be one for tradition. His classy attire alone said that much.

            "Dancing the first slow dance of the night, your 2014 Prom Royalty!" Principal Smith announced, trying earnestly to bring the mood of the dance back up. Jean held a courteous hand out to Marco who received it warily. By default, he seemed to be in the woman's dance position, judging from the way he was being held, but the dance was very casual, and not much more than a few steps to the left and right. Enrique Iglesias's Hero played softly in the background, and Marco silently cursed the Titans for forcing him to live out this fantasy of his under the circumstances in which he was living it.

            _Would you dance if I asked you to dance? Would you run, and never look back? Would you cry if you saw me crying? And would you save my soul, tonight?_

            He wanted so badly to be able to enjoy this moment, something he had only ever dreamed of, dancing with Jean Kirschtein to a beautiful song as others looked on. Yet the mocking could not leave the back of his mind. It did not help in the least that he could still hear some of the Titans snickering, and now and then he heard Jean's name. He _knew_ they were just waiting for Jean to pull a final trick, and Marco's heart pounded against his throat as he waited as well.

            _Would you tremble if I touched your lips? Would you laugh? Oh, please tell me this. Now would you die for the one you loved? Hold me in your arms, tonight._

            "Don't listen to them," Jean prompted. It was the first time he had spoken since the dance had started. "Just focus on the dance, it's fine. Don't worry about them."

            And it was then that Marco completely realized that Jean was serious. He had no ulterior motive. He was completely serious about everything. Yet Marco's heart did not stop pounding because he also realized that all his wishes about who Jean was were true - he really was a good guy who just needed the proper opportunity to show it. Marco's heart still fluttered out of nerves, but now for a completely different reason.

            _I can be your hero, baby. I can kiss away the pain. I will stand by you forever. You can take my breath away_.

            They swayed more, and the crowd silenced again as the song drew to a close. Marco was ready to pull away and thank _his_ hero, and retreat back into his proper slot in the school's hierarchy (despite his recent coronation), but Jean leaned in to whisper again. "Thank you for the honor of this dance, _your majesty_ ," he said, putting that same emphasis on the last two words. Marco began to reply, but he was stopped - by Jean's lips against his own.

            He drew away within seconds. "That's _not_ traditional," he breathed, and the silence of the room competed with the silence from before. Marco's fingers shot to his lips, completely in disbelief of what had just happened. For a minute, be believed he had imagined it entirely. That was until he heard a hiss rising from the Titans, who had realized that Jean had betrayed him.

            "No wonder! It wall makes sense now!" one of them sneered.

            "You're just a little _fag_ , too," growled another. "Maybe we gave the crown to the wrong queen."

            Jean stared at his teammates, completely at a loss for words. Surely he had planned what he had done, but nothing could have ever prepared him for the backlash from his friends. He was stuck, staring there, unable to do a thing, until suddenly there was a flash of freckled skin, a grunt and a splash of red. It took Jean, and everyone else in the gym for that matter, a moment to realize that Marco had lunged at the last Titan who had spoken and decked him square in the face.

            "'E broke by nose," the jock said nasally through the blood rushing down his face. Principal Erwin called the on hand nurse over, but said nothing otherwise, apparently approving of the way Marco handled the situation. The Titans and other popular kids crowded around the fallen boy.

            After shaking out his punching hand, Marco put it on Jean's shoulder to get his attention.

            "Thanks for saving me," Marco whispered with a sheepish smile as the next slow dance song started. Kids were starting to pair up and dance again, picking up Principal Smith's attempt to return the atmosphere to normal

            "No, no, _you_ saved _me_ ," Jean said. "Believe me. I've been stuck for a long time, and I still would be if not for your courage."

            Marco tried hard not to gape in disbelief, and after he processed what was happening, he held out his own hand to Jean.

            "Does that mean I can have another dance then, _Stallion_?"

            "Of course, _your majesty_."

**Author's Note:**

> Hehe, you may THINK that Sasha dancing with a sandwich is just a silly "Sasha like" thing to do, but REALLY, it was taken from my own life, when I slow danced with a sub sandwich way back when during my Freshman Homecoming.
> 
> A lot of this was inspired by Glee Prom scenes. *shrug*
> 
> Songs feaured:
> 
> A Little Party - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZgjmE6xdaw  
> Every Time We Touch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G6QDNC4jPs  
> Hero - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJlIGDImiU


End file.
